He recalled:“Joe couldn’t talk and was losing consciousness, so I knew we had minutes to save him. I’m in little doubt that 15 minutes later the damage to Joe’s brain would have been irreversible.

The prospect of him having a normal life would have been over. But just 48 hours later, I had a cup of tea with Joe in the hospital café, which is incredible. This procedure has to be carried within five hours of the stroke to be effective.

There are only around 20 UK hospitals right now that can perform this, so only a tiny fraction of those who could benefit from this are getting the correct treatment when they need it.”